What was/is the best outboard you've owned

[scrapper]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I ve had Lots of very good motors , But the one that gave me the most pleasure and most dependable would be that little one horse Neptune that I refered to in First Motor Post ... Doug

 

[north40]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

After a couple of years borrowing "friends" motors of various brands and wearing out my arm trying to crank; not to mention the many paddles I wore out, I was able to take my tax refund and buy a new 1967 6HP Mercury. It was a love affair I will never get over. I later bought a used 1972 50HP Merc which was the easiest starting, smoothest running and quietest motor I have owned including new one I have bought since.

 

[dtherrien]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

Mine would be my current motor...97 merc 150efi.I have had it two years now on my 97 ranger.It starts and runs flawlessly and is economical to run if you can stay off of wot.

 

[phatmanmike]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

very very best running motor i owned was a 1992 tohatsu 5hp. started and ran EVERY TIME, first pull! and i mean every!<br /><br />but my absolute favorite was my 1976 merc 115 inline 6! woooo hoooo. that thing sounded wicked at 6000rpm going 55 mph in my 16 foot boat!

 

[gsnyder]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

Outboards are different now. They look different, they smell different, they sound different, they feel different on the boat. As mentioned above, the 1967 Evinrude 3 HP is a gem. My dad bought one in 1967 and used it for years as a kicker, and it brought him home many times when his larger motors failed. He gave to to me in the eighties, and it's served yeoman duties ever since. If its stubborn, it will start on the SECOND pull, but even after a period of sitting, it usually springs to life on the first. It idles quietly and smoothly, it powers up nicely, and as it sits on its stand with the others, the slot for the blade throttle seems to be smiling.

 

[artburr]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

Anything with the name Johnson or Evinrude on it.

 

[steelespike]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I have to agree with Laddies The Merc 500 circa 1965.A friend about 60 at the time bought one in 65.His first motor outside the E/J loop.12 years later I asked him what he thought of it because I wanted to buy a 77.He felt it was the best motor Merc or anyone had built to that point.I bought it from his son about 4 years ago.Still runs as new.

 

[joblo33]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

Ya, I don't know if you can tell from my sig, but I like the 44ci Mercs too. <br />Eric

 

[JasonJ]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I am in a dead heat between my 69 Merc 1250 and my little late 50's Johnson 5.5 horse CD series. They both start and run flawlessly, never a disapointment. Overall I am a Merc fan, but I also pretty much like stuff that works...

 

[jimbo_jwc]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

Best and most gas run through 1974 Chrysler 120hp ran 20 spring and summers never let me down! Second Grandpa's 1949 Johnson Seahorse 5hp twin has been on the most and traveled boats . 1984 Johnson Seahorse 4.5hp twin . !970? Chrysler 20hp with light on top .

 

[boater1234]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I would have to say my 2001 9.8 tohatsu 2stroke.That motor was a sewing machine and had never let me down once.Sold it a few yrs ago and wished i would of kept it.

 

[fisherguy123]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

1986 Suzuki DT 30......bought used in 1990 for $400. ....still running like a new motor ....fresh and salt water use.....never a problem. Just bought a 1982 merc 50 ....hope it runs as good !!!

 

[jbjennings]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

'57 18hp johnson. Never had a problem, lots of gas through it.
'56 10hp johnson. Almost always a first pull, smooth running motor.

Since I know Laddies to be quite the mechanical genius, I hope he will say why he likes the merc 50 so much. I'm intrigued by that response!
JBJ

 

[merc20076]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

So far it's my Evinrude Lark VIII 40 hp 1966 ! What a powerful, nice looking and simple outboard!

 

[madman2021]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

my best outboards were johnson/evinrude owned many big and small then yamaha 225 ox66 great motor, then honda(reliable and quiet but lack power). all my mercurys were crap. my chryslers were ok but parts was a problem. im not a big fan of my mercruisers ive owned. my dads suzuki was a piece of crap. and my tohatsu was junk too. my mariner never wanted to start but ran ok when it wanted to. all my motors were regularly serviced and always taken good care off.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I don't like to own outboards that I have to pay someone else to fix, so I go for the old OMCs. I've had a bunch and would have a hard time pinning this answer down to any one motor. I'd say that any of the two or three cylinder motors from the late fifties to the middle seventies, are OK. My exception to this statement, would be any of the battery CD engines - just don't like them.

I just sold a '69 Johnson 6hp motor that I probably shouldn't have, but I'm trying to reduce my inventory and it went to a young kid (his first motor), so I feel sort of like I passed on a tradition of boating, fishing, etc. It always ran great for me and I'm sure that the young man will proudly bring home lots of fish and crabs because of it. If you feel a need to let go of a treasured toy, I guess that's about as good as it gets.

My '72 Johnson 65hp outboard has been a great one too. Its taken me to the distant regions of our local lakes and bayous more times than I can now remember and aside from one time that I had a carb issue and an ignition issue at the same time (not long after I bought it), its never failed me. The motor has been a workhorse for my photography activities and has powered me on a bunch of volunteer SAR missions, often in the middle of the night. One fellow with about a fifty thousand dollar boat, who I found run completely up on a marsh at four in the morning, sure was glad that OMC made such great engines! Well, that and the fact that I had lots of bug spray with me! Ever been in a Louisiana marsh in the middle of the night with no bug repellent?

I've become like my grandaddy - set in my ways! Give me old OMC aluminum or give me death!



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[triumphrick]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

The motor that Yamaha was sued over...the 3 cylinder 70 and 90 horse..

My first new motor was a 90 Yamaha I bought back in '86. I ran that motor long and hard for nearly ten years. It wasn't some little back up to get my boat back to shore if my motor failed. I don't see where those count...
This motor had a little over 1800 hrs on it when sold in it's ninth year. It had never been in a shop. I put impellers, plugs and lower unit oil in it over those ten years and that's all it ever needed. Never touched the electrical, oil injection, tilt/.trim, carbs...nothing.

That sealed the deal for me. I have yet to own another brand...

 

[ole man of the river]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I would have to say it's toss up between my 1973 OMC 9.5 seahorse and 2000 OMC 9.9.

 

[RRitt]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

I'm liking the **** out of my briggs and stratton. It was noisy at first and that was unbearably bad. I was going to get rid of the engine because ti was just a headache. Literally. So I took a hose clamp, some copper pipe, a 90 fitting, and ran the exhaust down to underwater. Now it's the same noise as a typical little 2stroke. except that it is way better than a little 2 stroke. It's an aircooled four stroke. No impellers, no flushing. No worrying about running aground. The engine doesn't go fast. It just goes without ever needing maintenance or special gas. It is born to be abused and I'm just the guy to do it. When it blows, it blows. I'll just go buy a new powerhead for $130 from the lawnmower shop.

I even went out and bought a new little fiberglass skiff and am adding a layer of Kevlar to the bottom just so that I can have a boat hull as tough as my motor.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: What was/is the best outboard you've owned

It wasn't some little back up to get my boat back to shore if my motor failed. I don't see where those count...

They count because they aren't always used as kickers and even when they are, if the point is to get back to shore, they had better work - every single time.



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